


Uncertainty

by torpidGilliver



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: (You should squint), Did it for the Hugo nomination lads, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Miphda if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 04:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18335894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torpidGilliver/pseuds/torpidGilliver
Summary: A Princess has escaped her knight for a few minutes of privacy. Another Princess finds her.





	Uncertainty

**Author's Note:**

> When this was published, AO3 was nominated for a Hugo Award. All of AO3. I didn't intend to miss my opportunity to claim to be a Hugo nominated fanfiction author. 
> 
> (Congrats to everyone involved in the creation and maintenance of AO3! Ya'll earned that nomination and you deserve the award! I'm just a memeing shit.)

"You've slipped your guard again, Princess."

Zelda spins to face the source of the soft, unaccusing comment with far more fight than was necessary. Seeing Mipha's amused smile kills whatever argument was trying to form on her tongue, though, and she relaxes again.

"Yes. Although all I did was take him to visit with Kodah. She was so excited to see 'Linny' again that she didn't notice me slipping back out."

Mipha chuckles and draws level with Zelda, peering over the cliff at the Domain below. "That was fairly cruel of you, actually. He's not going to be able to escape her for quite a while. I'm sure that he's worried for you already." The suggestion that Link cares about Zelda's safety earns a dainty scoff, but Mipha continues. "Link treats his duty to you, and to Hyrule, with the utmost seriousness. It's not fair of you not to trust him to do his job."

"I don't trust him to _leave me be_ ," Zelda snaps. Though Mipha doesn't flinch, she immediately regrets her tone. "...I'm sorry. But you can't possibly understand how frustrating it is to have someone dogging your every step, constantly underfoot, consistently present to judge your every failure--"

"You don't give him enough credit. He's there to _support_ you. He's present for your triumphs, too."

"That would be far more comforting if I had any triumphs to speak of." Zelda raises her hands to examine them. If she had her way, there would be calluses on her palms and dirt under her nails. Her hands would be skilled, and carry stories of successful surveys and adventures to the corners of the kingdom. Instead they're clean, unblemished, familiar only with the act of clasping in unheard prayers.

She doesn't vocalize these thoughts, but Mipha must be able to read them in her eyes, because webbed fingers reach out to interlock with her own. Mipha is now standing between Zelda and the cliff, so that she has no choice but to look at her Zoran counterpart.

"...I envy you," Zelda says at length. "I envy you the faith of your people, the certainty of your destiny. Have you ever in your life even been _permitted_ to think that you aren't _good enough?"_

There's something deeply sad in Mipha's normally smiling gold eyes. Zelda can't name it, can't trace it back to its source. It almost looks like the pity she's so used to seeing in everyone else when they look at her, but there's something else there that colors it differently.

"Everyone doubts themselves," Mipha replies. "You have significantly more to deal with than most, but you are also far more capable than you give yourself credit for." Her voice is a lullaby for Zelda's irresolution, for the moment. _"I_ have faith in you, Princess."

"You know that you--"

"I know that I don't have to call you that, Zelda. It could have been a mildly amusing joke, though, if you had replied to the tone of 'Thank you for your vote of confidence, Princess.'"

Zelda laughs weakly. "'Mildly amusing' might be overselling your sense of humor, Mipha."

"Well, that's rude. Oh! Hello, Link!"

Zelda whirls, yanking her hands free of Mipha's with more guilt than she really should feel for such an innocent gesture. Behind her, the bluff is empty. Mipha laughs musically as Zelda turns back to her.

"I'm sorry," she giggles. "The opportunity was there, and I couldn't resist. He will be on his way, though. Not even Kodah can hold him this long."

Zelda sighs and reaches up to run her fingers through her hair. "I suppose not. We need to leave soon, anyway, if we want to reach Akkala in any sort of reasonable time."

"I'll miss the both of you," Mipha says. She's smiling, but that not-pity is back in her expression. "But it will also be a bit of a relief. I've got something I'm working on, and I'm always too anxious to put any time towards it when you're here."

"A project?" This is the first Zelda has heard of any such thing. "What is it?"

Mipha's smile is mysterious.

"It's a secret," she says simply, as booted footsteps hurry towards them through the grass.


End file.
